Saturday, December 25, 2010

Antique German Dollhouse General Store

One of my most spectacular Christmas gifts this year was this antique German dollhouse shop, a general store circa 1900, measuring 18 inches wide. It has its original counter, tin cash register, drawers with tin labels (written in English for the American and British markets), floor paper, wallpaper border, and many old products and accessories.

The shop came with an assortment of antique German-made cakes and pies, including a very appropriate Christmas pudding trimmed with holly:

It was also loaded with lots of old miniature packages; a sampling is shown below. Who wouldn't like a box of Nirvana? I didn't know we could buy such a metaphysical concept, and so neatly packaged too. (Oh, one of my German friends has just informed me this was likely a coffee brand...)

The tin cash register is a wonderful piece. Looks like the shopkeeper is getting ready to ring up a basket of eggs:

Another great old piece is this tiny bird cage, made of pressed and painted tin, with an itty-bitty bird inside:

The shop also came with a wonderful old mop, useful for cleaning up spills from the dry goods drawers...

...and a tin scoop and pan:

My old Clark & Coats Company paper doll seems to fit perfectly behind the counter of this warm and cozy shop:

Tracy, back in July (!) you said to let you know if there was anything I'd be interested in - I don't know if you'd be selling this, or if it would be possible to ship it to Australia, but this is probably one of the things I'd be most interested in - I love all the labels in English! and the gorgeous wood and wallpapers :-) Just thought I'd mention it, finally - though if you are selling it, it may well have gone already!

Hi Rebecca! Always so good to hear from you! I hope all is well down there in Australia. This shop wasn't one I was planning on selling, but...I will ponder and get back to you. I do have a couple of others for sale right now, but they aren't as old (1930s and 1950s.) Will talk to you soon!

About Me

I'm a library director with a background in museums as well. Given my professional interests, it's probably not surprising that my personal hobbies involve collecting and organizing things: lots of things, mostly old things. I collect antique and vintage toys, holiday stuff, kitschy travel souvenirs, books, and much more. Welcome to my Happy Place, where I randomly post stuff from my collections as the whim strikes me.